Tag: Technology

OK everybody it’s super geek time here on A Geek With Guns. If you’re doctor has warned you to avoid discussion of computer hardware this post should be ignored. Otherwise proceed with caution.

Intel recently released new processors dubbed the i5 and i7 series. One of the new features of these processors is mandatory integrated graphics core. Needless to say integrated graphics are hated by anybody who does any graphical work so whining has crept up over Intel’s decision. The processors do support switchable graphics units meaning you can seamlessly switch between the integrated graphics core and another graphics processing unit on the system so really it’s a non-issue. But alas people are curious why Intel decided to include integrated graphics as a mandatory option instead of an optional feature. When you look into it having an on board graphics core makes a lot of sense.

Graphics processing units perform better at certain tasks than standard processing units. It used to be GPUs were only used for 3D games and hence only gamers really card what one they had in their system. Alas GPUs are useful for a great deal of things such as video encoding and decoding.

When writing applications generally a programmer writes in a programming language and uses a mechanism (compiler, interpreter, virtual machine, etc.) to convert said language into something the computer actually understands. In the case of compilers a programming language is converted into machine language (simplified explanation). Different CPUs have different instructions available to them and oftentimes developers are forced to compile their applications to the lowest common denominator (an instruction set available on as many CPUs as possible). This means their applications aren’t taking advantage of the best hardware available when it is available.

Having an integrated GPU ensures instructions specific to GPUs will always be there and programming and write their application with this in mind. Granted right now there is no guarantee with all the older processors out there not having integrated graphics, but in time old systems will become the minority and it will be easier to not have to support them.

Intel didn’t include the integrated GPU for monopolistic reasons. If that were the reason I believe they would have made it more difficult to switch to an external graphics card. Intel wanted to ensure the hardware was available on as many systems as possible for doing work made faster by a GPU.

No more than a few hours have my little post on Palm appears in your RSS feed Palm gets purchased by HP. And that fell swoop ends an era.

One the upside HP may have decent phones to match with their only other decent product, RPN calculators.

I’ve mentioned from time to time here about my fascination with Palm and their products. I still think WebOS is probably the best mobile OS out there (via playing with the major platforms through emulators and a little hands on time with devices). I’ve been saying I’m going to get a Pre at some point but have been holding out as of late because Palm is in complete disarray. Well the developers of one of my previously most used Palm applications, DataViz, has made a recent annoucement:

We are continuing our efforts to work with Palm to clear the path for a full editing version of Documents To Go. However, given the current environment at Palm, as well as the necessary collaboration with the device manufacturer that is required to bring an app like ours to a platform like webOS, our Documents To Go editor product for webOS is essentially at a standstill.

As soon as we have any additional information, we will inform you immediately.

Thanks for your passion surrounding our solution.

I bring this up because a history lesson is required. Not only is Palm in financial trouble they also have a history of screwing developers over. A few years ago Palm introduced what would have been the first netbook, the Foleo. It was a very small laptop-like device that synced up with your phone (and didn’t have much functionality without your phone). It was a neat idea honestly and I was planning on getting one upon release.

Developers worked on applications to release on the Foleo. Quit a bit of time and money was spent by developers to make sure their applications were ready for the fast approaching release date. Then at the last minute (a few days before the scheduled release) Palm cancelled the Foleo. That was it, nothing to see everybody, move along.

Their reasoning was sound (although way too late). They were working on what would become WebOS at the time. The Foleo operating system, although Linux based, was completely separate from their upcoming WebOS. Palm decided a unified user experience (in other words only putting time and resources into a single operating system) was the way they should go. They promised a Foleo II running their new platform at an unspecified future date which never game.

This story is important to bring up because it shows why developers are skittish to dump money into developing Palm software. Not only is the future of the company uncertain but they still remember getting screwed over big time from the whole Foleo debacle. Developers are none too happy when a platform developer pulls the keyboard out from under their tired coding finger tips.

So the strike against Palm is two fold at this point. They aren’t making money and their still in an untrusted position with developers who remember what happened those short few years ago. I think these two things are going to haunt Palm for many years (if they survive that long) to come.